Not really. For the people I am talking about, helping with something like that would be absolutely expected from a very close friend (a "compadre" for example,

Not really. For the people I am talking about, helping with something like that would be absolutely expected from a very close friend (a "compadre" for example, which is a Spanish term for the godfather of your children, would be considered very unreliable if he didn't help with something like that). It would even be considered a bit rude for neighbors not to do so in some neighborhoods (specially if other neighbors helped them with their homes). Admittedly, I am not from those circles and I am not 100% sure about the etiquete, but there are definitely pretty strong rules about what you expect from your close community and viceversa. It is part out of necessity, because we are talking about places with very little economic resources and practically no access to government or banking services.